8018608781 USA Telephone S Salt Lake, UT 801-860-8781 1.4% Scotch Irish 1.3% Swiss Most Utahns are of Northern European descent. Interestingly, a full third of Utah's workforce is bilingual. In 2011, 28.6% of Utah's population younger than the age of one were minorities, meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white. Religion A majority of the state's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As of 2012, 62.2% of Utahns are counted as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although only 41.6% of them are active members. Mormons now make up about 34%–41% of Salt Lake City, while rural and suburban areas tend to be prominently Mormon. The religious body with the largest number of congregations is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (with 4,815 congregations).

Though the LDS Church officially maintains a policy of neutrality in regards to political parties, the church's doctrine has a strong regional influence on politics. Another doctrine effect can be seen in Utah's high birth rate (25 percent higher than the national average; the highest for a state in the U.S.). The Mormons in Utah tend to have conservative views when it comes to most political issues and the majority of voter-age Utahns are unaffiliated voters (60%) who vote overwhelmingly Republican. Mitt Romney received 72.8% of the Utahn votes in 2012, while John McCain polled 62.5% in the United States presidential election, 2008 and 70.9% for George W. Bush in 2004. In 2010 the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the three largest denominational groups in Utah are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 1,910,504 adherents; the Catholic Church with 160,125 adherents, and the Southern Baptist Convention with 12,593 adherents.

There is a growing Jewish presence in the state including Chabad and Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. According to a report produced by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life the self-identified religious affiliations of Utahns over the age of 18 as of 2008 are: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 58% (labeled as Mormon on survey) Unaffiliated 16% Other World Religions <0.5% Margin of error +/− 6% According to results from the 2010 United States Census, Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) represented 62.1% of Utah's total population. The Utah county with the lowest percentage of Mormons was Grand County, at 26.5%, while the county with the highest percentage was Morgan County, at 86.1%. In addition, the result for the most populated county, Salt Lake County, was 51.4%. According to a Gallup poll, Utah had the 2nd-highest number of people reporting as "Very Religious" in 2011, at 57% (trailing only Mississippi).

However, it also had a higher rate of people reporting as "Nonreligious" (28%) than any of the other "most religious" states, and the smallest percentage of people reporting as "Moderately Religious" (15%) of any state. Age and gender Utah has the highest total birth rate and accordingly, the youngest population of any U.S. state. In 2010, the state's population was 50.2% male and 49.8% female. Economy According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the gross state product of Utah in 2012 was $130.5 billion, or 0.87% of the total United States GDP of $14.991 trillion for the same year. The per capita personal income was $45,700 in 2012. Major industries of Utah include: mining, cattle ranching, salt production, and government services. According to the 2007 State New Economy Index, Utah is ranked the top state in the nation for Economic Dynamism, determined by "the degree to which state economies are knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, information technology-driven and innovation-based".

In 2014, Utah was ranked number one in Forbes' list of "Best States For Business". A November 2010 article in Newsweek highlighted Utah and particularly the Salt Lake City area's economic outlook, calling it "the new economic Zion", and examined how the area has been able to bring in high-paying jobs and attract high-tech corporations to the area during a recession. As of September 2014, the state's unemployment rate was 3.5%. In terms of "small business friendliness", in 2014 Utah emerged as number one, based on a study drawing upon data from over 12,000 small business owners. In eastern Utah petroleum production is a major industry. Near Salt Lake City, petroleum refining is done by a number of oil companies. In central Utah, coal production accounts for much of the mining activity. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that Utah residents were the largest consumers of paid internet pornography per capita in the United States.

However Edelman, the study's author, came to this conclusion after looking at subscriptions for just one top-10 seller of online adult entertainment, comparing ZIP codes associated with all credit card subscriptions between 2006 and 2008. The author is also quick to admit that the difference in usage between states is relatively small. Another report found that Utah was not significantly higher than other states in regards to pornographic Google search terms; and in regards to the most common search term, was ranked last. According to Internal Revenue Service tax returns, Utahns rank first among all U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by the wealthy. This is due to the standard 10% of all earnings that Mormons give to the LDS Church. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Utah had an average of 884,000 volunteers between 2008 and 2010, each of whom contributed 89.2 hours per volunteer. This figure equates to $3.8 billion of service contributed, ranking Utah number one for volunteerism in the nation.

Taxation Utah collects personal income tax; since 2008 the tax has been a flat 5 percent for all taxpayers. The state sales tax has a base rate of 6.45 percent, with cities and counties levying additional local sales taxes that vary among the municipalities. Property taxes are assessed and collected locally. Utah does not charge intangible property taxes and does not impose an inheritance tax. Tourism Tourism is a major industry in Utah and is well known for its year-round outdoor and recreational activities among other attractions. With five national parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion), Utah has the third most national parks of any state after Alaska and California. In addition, Utah features seven national monuments (Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, and Timpanogos Cave), two national recreation areas (Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon), seven national forests (Ashley, Caribou-Targhee, Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, Sawtooth, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache), and numerous state parks and monuments.

The Moab area, in the southeastern part of the state, is known for its challenging mountain biking trails, including Slickrock. Moab also hosts the famous Moab Jeep Safari semiannually. Utah is well known for its winter activities and has seen an increase in tourism since the 2002 Winter Olympics. Park City is home to the United States Ski Team. Utah's ski resorts are primarily located in northern Utah near Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, and Provo. In 2011, for a fifth year in a row, Deer Valley, in Park City, has been ranked the top ski resort in North America by more than 20,000 readers of Ski Magazine, which has a circulation of over 1.6 million subscribers. In addition to having prime snow conditions and world-class amenities, Northern Utah's ski resorts are well liked among tourists for their convenience and proximity to a large city and international airport, as well as the close proximity to other ski resorts, allowing skiers the ability to ski at multiple locations in one day.

This is in contrast to most other states with large ski industries, where resorts are more often located in remote locations, away from large cities, and more spread apart. The 2009 Ski Magazine reader survey concluded that six out of the top ten resorts deemed most "accessible" and six out of the top ten with the best snow conditions were located in Utah. In Southern Utah, Brian Head Ski Resort is located in the mountains near Cedar City. Former Olympic venues including Utah Olympic Park and Utah Olympic Oval are still in operation for training and competition and allows the public to participate in numerous activities including ski jumping, bobsleigh, and speed skating. Utah features many cultural attractions such as Temple Square, the Sundance Film Festival, the Red Rock Film Festival, the DOCUTAH Film Festival, and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. Temple Square is ranked as the 16th most visited tourist attraction in the United States by Forbes Magazine, with over five million annual visitors. Other attractions include Monument Valley, the Great Salt Lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats, and Lake Powell.

Mining Beginning in the late 19th century with the state's mining boom (including the Bingham Canyon Mine, among the world's largest open pit mines), companies attracted large numbers of immigrants with job opportunities. Since the days of the Utah Territory mining has played a major role in Utah's economy. Historical mining towns include Mercur in Tooele County, Silver Reef in Washington County, Eureka in Juab County, Park City in Summit County and numerous coal mining camps throughout Carbon County such as Castle Gate, Spring Canyon, and Hiawatha. These settlements were characteristic of the boom and bust cycle that dominated mining towns of the American West. During the early part of the Cold War era, uranium was mined in eastern Utah. Today mining activity still plays a major role in the state's economy. Minerals mined in Utah include copper, gold, silver, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and beryllium. Fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and natural gas continue to play a large role in Utah's economy, especially in the eastern part of the state in counties such as Carbon, Emery, Grand, and Uintah.

Incidents In 2007, nine people were killed at the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse. On March 22, 2013, one miner died and another was injured after they became trapped in a cave-in at a part of the Castle Valley Mining Complex, about 10 miles west of the small mining town of Huntington in Emery County. Energy Utah has the potential to generate 31,552 GWh/year from 13,104 MW of wind power, and 10,290,000 GWh/year from solar power using 4,048,000 MW of photovoltaic (PV), including 5,645 MW of rooftop photovoltaic, and 1,638,000 MW of concentrated solar power. Source: Transportation I-15 and I-80 are the main interstate highways in the state, where they intersect and briefly merge near downtown Salt Lake City. I-15 traverses the state north-to-south, entering from Arizona near St. George, paralleling the Wasatch Front, and crossing into Idaho near Portage.

I-80 spans northern Utah east-to-west, entering from Nevada at Wendover, crossing the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City, and entering Wyoming near Evanston. I-84 West enters from Idaho near Snowville (from Boise) and merges with I-15 from Tremonton to Ogden, then heads southeast through the Wasatch Mountains before terminating at I-80 near Echo Junction. I-70 splits from I-15 at Cove Fort in central Utah and heads east through mountains and rugged desert terrain, providing quick access to the many national parks and national monuments of southern Utah, and has been noted for its beauty. The 103-mile (163 km) stretch from Salina to Green River is the longest stretch of interstate in the country without services and, when completed in 1970, was the longest stretch of entirely new highway constructed in the U.S. since the Alaska Highway was completed in 1943. TRAX, a light rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, consists of three lines. The Blue Line (formerly Salt Lake/Sandy Line) begins in the suburb of Draper and ends in Downtown Salt Lake City.

The Red Line (Mid-Jordan/University Line) begins in the Daybreak Community of South Jordan, a southwestern valley suburb, and ends at the University of Utah. The Green Line begins in West Valley City passes through downtown Salt Lake City and ends at the Salt Lake City International Airport. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA), which operates TRAX, also operates a bus system that stretches across the Wasatch Front, west into Grantsville, and east into Park City. In addition, UTA provides winter service to the ski resorts east of Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Provo. Several bus companies also provide access to the ski resorts in winter, and local bus companies also serve the cities of Cedar City, Logan, Park City, and St. George. A commuter rail line known as FrontRunner, also operated by UTA, runs between Pleasant View and Provo via Salt Lake City. Amtrak's California Zephyr, with one train in each direction daily, runs east-west through Utah with stops in Green River, Helper, Provo, and Salt Lake City.

The cities of Logan, Hyrum, Smithfield, Richmond, in addition to nearby Preston, Idaho, are served by a local sales-tax-funded zero-fare bus system called the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD). It is the only system-wide free public transit system in the state. Salt Lake City International Airport is the only international airport in the state and serves as one of the hubs for Delta Air Lines. The airport has consistently ranked first in on-time departures and had the fewest cancellations among U.S. airports. The airport has non-stop service to over 100 destinations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as to Paris and Tokyo. Canyonlands Field (near Moab), Cedar City Regional Airport, Ogden-Hinckley Airport, Provo Municipal Airport, St. George Municipal Airport, and Vernal Regional Airport all provide limited commercial air service. An entirely new regional airport at St. George opened on January 12, 2011, replacing the old airport that existed on top of a plateau and had no room for expansion. SkyWest Airlines is also headquartered in St. George and maintains a hub at Salt Lake City.

The airlines and service from Provo have seem to remain in a state of change since commercial service began in 2011. Law and government Utah government, like most U.S. states, is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The current governor of Utah is Gary Herbert, who was sworn in on August 11, 2009. The governor is elected for a four-year term. The Utah State Legislature consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. State senators serve four-year terms and representatives two-year terms. The Utah Legislature meets each year in January for an annual forty-five-day session. The Utah Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Utah. It consists of five justices, who are appointed by the governor, and then subject to retention election. The Utah Court of Appeals handles cases from the trial courts. Trial level courts are the district courts and justice courts. All justices and judges, like those on the Utah Supreme Court, are subject to retention election after appointment. Counties Utah is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties.

Since 1918 there have been 29 counties in the state, ranging from 298 to 7,819 square miles (772 to 20,300 km2). Total Counties: 29 Total state area: 82,154 sq mi (212,780 km2) Women's rights Utah granted full voting rights to women in 1870, 26 years before becoming a state. Among all U.S. states, only Wyoming granted suffrage to women earlier. However, in 1887 the initial Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed by Congress in an effort to curtail excessive Mormon influence in the territorial government. One of the provisions of the Act was the repeal of women's suffrage; full suffrage was not returned until Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896. Utah is one of the 15 states that have not ratified the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment. Constitution The constitution of Utah was enacted in 1895.

Notably, the constitution outlawed polygamy, as requested by Congress when Utah had applied for statehood, and reestablished the territorial practice of women's suffrage. Utah's Constitution has been amended many times since its inception. Alcohol, tobacco and gambling laws Utah's laws in regard to alcohol, tobacco and gambling are strict. Utah is an alcoholic beverage control state. The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control regulates the sale of alcohol; wine and spirituous liquors may only be purchased at state liquor stores, and local laws may prohibit the sale of beer and other alcoholic beverages on Sundays. The state bans the sale of fruity alcoholic drinks at grocery stores and convenience stores. The law states that such drinks must now have new state-approved labels on the front of the products that contain capitalized letters in bold type telling consumers the drinks contain alcohol and at what percentage. The Utah Indoor Clean Air Act is a statewide smoking ban, that prohibits smoking in many public places. Utah is one of few states to set a smoking age of 19, as opposed to 18, as in most other states. Utah is also one of only two states in the United States to outlaw all forms of gambling; the other is Hawaii.

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage became legal in Utah on December 20, 2013 when judge Robert J. Shelby of the United States District Court for the District of Utah issued a ruling in Kitchen v. Herbert. As of close of business December 26, more than 1,225 marriage licenses were issued, with at least 74 percent, or 905 licenses, issued to gay and lesbian couples. Utah's counties generated more than $49,000 in a three-and-a-half-day period from licenses, which cost $30–$50. The state Attorney General's office was granted a stay of the ruling by the United States Supreme Court on January 6, 2014 while the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals considers the case. On Monday October 6th, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States declined a Writ of Certiorari, and the 10th Circuit Court issued their mandate later that day, lifting their stay. Same-sex marriages commenced again in Utah that day. Politics In the late 19th century, the federal government took issue with polygamy in the LDS Church.

The LDS Church discontinued plural marriage in 1890, and in 1896 Utah gained admission to the Union. Many new people settled the area soon after the Mormon pioneers. Relations have often been strained between the LDS population and the non-LDS population. These tensions have played a large part in Utah's history (Liberal Party vs. People's Party). Utah was the single most Republican-leaning state in the country in every presidential election from 1976 to 2004, measured by the percentage point margin between the Republican and Democratic candidates. In 2008 Utah was only the third-most Republican state (after Wyoming and Oklahoma), but in 2012, with Mormon Mitt Romney atop the Republican ticket, Utah returned to its position as the most Republican state. Both of Utah's U.S. Senators, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, are Republican. Three more Republicans, Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, and Jason Chaffetz, as well as one member of the Democratic Party, Jim Matheson, represent Utah in the United States House of Representatives. After Jon Huntsman, Jr., resigned to serve as U.S.

Ambassador to China, Gary Herbert was sworn in as governor on August 11, 2009. Herbert was elected to serve out the remainder of the term in a special election in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon with 64% of the vote. He won election to a full four-year term in 2012, defeating Democratic Businessman Peter Cooke with 68% of the vote. The LDS Church maintains an official policy of neutrality with regard to political parties and candidates. Utah votes predominately Republican. Self-identified Latter-day Saints are more likely to vote for the Republican ticket than non-Mormons, and Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation. In the 1970s, then-Apostle Ezra Taft Benson was quoted by the Associated Press that it would be difficult for a faithful Latter-day Saint to be a liberal Democrat. Although the LDS Church has officially repudiated such statements on many occasions, Democratic candidates—including LDS Democrats—believe that Republicans capitalize on the perception that the Republican Party is doctrinally superior.

Political scientist and pollster Dan Jones explains this disparity by noting that the national Democratic Party is associated with liberal positions on gay marriage and abortion, both of which the LDS Church is against. The Republican Party in heavily Mormon Utah County presents itself as the superior choice for Latter-day Saints. Even though Utah Democratic candidates are predominantly LDS, socially conservative, and pro-life, no Democrat has won in Utah County since 1994. David Magleby, dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Brigham Young University, a lifelong Democrat and a political analyst, asserts that the Republican Party actually has more conservative positions than the LDS Church. Magleby argues that the locally conservative Democrats are in better accord with LDS doctrine. For example, the Republican Party of Utah opposes almost all abortions while Utah Democrats take a more liberal approach, although more conservative than their national counterparts. On Second Amendment issues, the state GOP has been at odds with the LDS Church position opposing concealed firearms in places of worship and in public spaces. In 1998 the church expressed concern that Utahns perceived the Republican Party as an LDS institution and authorized lifelong Democrat and Seventy Marlin Jensen to promote LDS bipartisanship.

Utah is much more conservative than the United States as a whole, particularly on social issues. Compared to other Republican-dominated states in the Mountain West such as Wyoming, Utah politics have a more moralistic and less libertarian character according to David Magleby. About 80% of Utah's Legislature are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while they account for 61 percent of the population. Since becoming a state in 1896, Utah has had only two non-Mormon governors. In 2006, the legislature passed legislation aimed at banning joint-custody for a non-biological parent of a child. The custody measure passed the legislature and was vetoed by the governor, a reciprocal benefits supporter. Carbon County's Democrats are generally made up of members of the large Greek, Italian, and Southeastern European communities, whose ancestors migrated in the early 20th century to work in the extensive mining industry. The views common amongst this group are heavily influenced by labor politics, particularly of the New Deal Era.

The Democrats of Summit County are the by-product of the migration of wealthy families from California in the 1990s to the ski resort town of Park City; their views are generally supportive of the economic policies favored by unions and the social policies favored by the liberals. The state's most Republican areas tend to be Utah County, which is the home to Brigham Young University in the city of Provo, and nearly all the rural counties. These areas generally hold socially conservative views in line with that of the national Religious Right. The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. Historically, Republican presidential nominees score one of their best margins of victory here. Utah was the Republicans' best state in the 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, and 2004 elections. In 1992, Utah was the only state in the nation where Democratic candidate Bill Clinton finished behind both Republican candidate George HW Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot. In 2004, Republican George W.

Bush won every county in the state and Utah gave him his largest margin of victory of any state. He won the state's five electoral votes by a margin of 46 percentage points with 71.5% of the vote. In the 1996 Presidential elections the Republican candidate received a smaller 54% of the vote while the Democrat earned 34%. Major cities and towns Utah's population is concentrated in two areas, the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, with a population of over 2 million; and Washington County, in southwestern Utah, locally known as "Dixie", with over 150,000 residents in the metropolitan area. According the 2010 Census, Utah was the second-fastest growing state (at 23.8 percent) in the United States between 2000 and 2010 (behind Nevada). St. George, in the southwest, is the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, trailing Greeley, Colorado.

The three fastest-growing counties from 2000 to 2010 were Wasatch County (54.7%), Washington County (52.9%), and Tooele County (42.9%). However, Utah County added the most people (148,028). Between 2000 and 2010, Saratoga Springs (1,673%), Herriman (1,330%), Eagle Mountain (893%), Cedar Hills (217%), South Willard (168%), Nibley (166%), Syracuse (159%), West Haven (158%), Lehi (149%), Washington (129%), and Stansbury Park (116%) all at least doubled in population. West Jordan (35,376), Lehi (28,379), St. George (23,234), South Jordan (20,981), West Valley City (20,584), and Herriman (20,262) all added at least 20,000 people.

Until 2003, the Salt Lake City and Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan areas were considered as a single metropolitan area. Colleges and universities Sports Utah is the least populous U.S. state to have a major professional sports league franchise (they now have two). The Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association play at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. The team moved to the city from New Orleans in 1979 and has been one of the most consistently successful teams in the league (although they have yet to win a championship). Salt Lake City was previously host to the Utah Stars, who competed in the ABA from 1970–76 and won 1 championship, and to the Utah Starzz of the WNBA from 1997 to 2003. Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer were founded in 2005 and play their home matches at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy. The team has enjoyed several years of success as the Utah outpost of the world's most popular sport. RSL remain the only Utah major league sports team to have won a major league national championship, having won the MLS Cup in 2009.

The Utah Blaze began play in the original AFL in 2006 that folded before the 2009 season, then returned to play when the league was re-founded in 2010. They compete at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. Utah's highest level minor league baseball team is the Salt Lake Bees, who play at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City and are part of the AAA level Pacific Coast League, one notch below Major League Baseball. Utah also has one minor league hockey team, the Utah Grizzlies, who play at the Maverik Center and compete in the ECHL (the third tier of U.S. hockey). Utah has six universities that compete in Division I of the NCAA. Three of the schools have football programs that participate in the top-level Football Bowl Subdivision: Utah in the Pacific-12 Conference, Utah State in the Mountain West Conference, and BYU as an independent. Two more schools participate in FCS football: Weber State and Southern Utah (SUU) in the Big Sky Conference. Utah Valley, which has no football program, is a full member of the Great West Conference. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics.

After early financial struggles and scandal, the 2002 Olympics eventually became among the most successful Winter Olympics in history from a marketing and financial standpoint. Watched by over 2 billion viewers, the Games ended up with a profit of 40 million dollars. Rugby has been growing quickly in the state of Utah, growing from 17 teams in 2009 to 70 teams as of 2013, including with over 3,000 players, and more than 55 high school varsity teams. The growth has been inspired in part by the 2008 movie Forever Strong. Utah fields two of the most competitive teams in the nation in college rugby — BYU and Utah.

Branding The state of Utah relies heavily on income from tourists and travelers taking advantage of the state's ski resorts and natural beauty, and thus the need to "brand" Utah and create an impression of the state throughout the world has led to several state slogans, the most famous of which being "The Greatest Snow on Earth", which has been in use in Utah officially since 1975 (although the slogan was in unofficial use as early as 1962) and now adorns nearly 50 percent of the state's license plates. In 2001, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt approved a new state slogan, "Utah! Where Ideas Connect", which lasted until March 10, 2006, when the Utah Travel Council and the office of Governor Jon Huntsman announced that "Life Elevated" would be the new state slogan. Entertainment Utah is the setting of or the filming location for many books, films, television series, music videos, and video games. A selective list of each appears below. Books Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory Series, which is set in a North America where the South won the Civil War, mentions Utah several times.

The state's Mormon population rebels against the United States in an attempt to create the Nation of Deseret throughout the series, which results in battles in and around Salt Lake City, Provo, and other locations. In Around the World in Eighty Days, the characters pass through Utah by train. The children's series The Great Brain is set in a fictional town that is based on Price. Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang is set in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. The characters' ultimate goal is the destruction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Much of Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s post-apocalyptic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz is set near or directly within Utah. The "hero" of the first part of the novel, the novice Brother Francis Gerard, is from Utah. In the second of four books based on the video game Doom much of the story takes place in Salt Lake City. Jack Kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel On the Road (arguably the most defining work of the post-WWII Beat Generation) describes traveling through Utah as part of a number of spontaneous road trips taken by the book's main characters.

Additionally, the character of Dean Moriarty (like his real life counterpart Neal Cassady) was born in Salt Lake City. While many of the names and details of Kerouac's experiences are changed, the characters and road trips in the novel are based heavily on road trips taken by Kerouac and his friends across mid-20th century America. Will Hobbs' 1999 young adult novel, The Maze, takes place in Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah. Mark Twain's book Roughing It (describes meeting with Brigham Young.) In Dean Koontz's book Dark Rivers of the Heart the two main characters travel through Utah while being sought after by a secret government agency. One scene takes place in Cedar City. Film See Category:Films shot in Utah Utah's Monument Valley has been location to several productions, such as 127 Hours, Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Television The Donny & Marie Show and The Osmond Family Show were primarily filmed at the former Osmond Studios in Orem. In the Doctor Who episode "Dalek", Utah was the base of operations for the character Henry van Statten.

In the episode "The Impossible Astronaut," the Doctor mysteriously summons his former companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams to Monument Valley. In Prison Break, D. B. Cooper buried his money under a silo in the Utah desert somewhere near Tooele. Much of the first half of the second season involves the characters attempting to reach Utah and recovering the money. In The Visitor, the main character's spaceship was shot down and crash-landed in the mountains east of Salt Lake City. Everwood was filmed in Park City, Ogden, and South Salt Lake. Regular production for Touched by an Angel was based in Salt Lake City, but it was filmed in many Utah locations, including some scenes in Ogden. The CBS series Promised Land was filmed in a closed set in Salt Lake City. Big Love, an HBO television drama about a polygamous family, was set in Sandy. In an episode of The Simpsons, Bart and his girlfriend drive to Utah to get married because of the state's marriage laws. In another episode, the Simpsons attend the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

In an episode of the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake and Josh, after accidentally killing his sister Megan's rare Cuban hamster, Josh Peck's character packs to move to Utah because "Nothing bad ever happens in Utah." "The Stand", a 1994 TV mini-series, was filmed at multiple locations in Weber, Salt Lake and Tooele counties. The scene where the deaf character (Nick) meets the slow-witted character (Tom Cullen) was filmed on Historic 25th Street in Ogden. Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert was filmed in Salt Lake City at EnergySolutions Arena on October 26 and 27, 2007. Top Gear Series 12, episode 2 features hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May driving to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, a Dodge Challenger SRT-8, and a Cadillac CTS-V. In the Futurama episode "Mars University", the Professor mentions Utah while describing the colonization of Mars: "In those days Mars was a dreary, uninhabitable wasteland, much like Utah.

But unlike Utah, Mars was eventually made liveable..." The TLC reality series Sister Wives, which made its debut in 2010, documents the life of a polygamous family in Lehi. In 2011 an episode of Travel Channel's television series Ghost Adventures was aired that took place at the Tooele Hospital. An episode of The Aquabats Super Show was filmed in Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington. An episode of "I Love Jenni" was filmed in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Music videos Jon Bon Jovi – "Blaze of Glory" was shot in or around Moab. Metallica – "King Nothing" and parts of "I Disappear" were filmed in Monument Valley. The Killers – "Human" was shot in Goblin Valley. The Offspring – "Gotta Get Away" was filmed at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. Tiffany – "I Think We're Alone Now" was filmed at the Ogden Mall. Chelsea Grin – "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was filmed in the Bonneville Salt Flats. Demi Lovato – "Skyscraper" was filmed in the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Britney Spears – "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was filmed at Ogden High School. Paramore – "Daydreaming" beginning scenes were filmed in Spanish Fork and Benjamin, Utah County. Video games Splinter Cell: Conviction's Insurgency Pack features a level that takes place at a fictional experimental pharmaceutical company in Salt Lake City. Resistance 2 features a level in Bryce Canyon. Amped 3 features a level at the Snowbird Ski Resort. Downhill Domination has six bike racing courses in Moab and in Salt Lake City. Shaun White Snowboarding features Park City Mountain Resort. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun features a level in Provo (NOD campaign). EA Sports BIG's Freekstyle game has a level called "Monumental Motoplex" in Monument Valley. Test Drive Off-Road Wide Open features a level in Moab. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus features a level in a fictional Utah town called "Mesa City". Fallout: New Vegas features a downloadable add-on, titled Honest Hearts, which takes place in Utah's Zion National Park.

The Last of Us shows the central area of Salt Lake City (Interstate highway, Salt Lake Temple, and the fictional Saint Mary's Hospital). See also Outline of Utah – organized list of topics about Utah Index of Utah-related articles References This article incorporates public domain material from the website of the Division of Utah State Parks and Recreation. External links

Question: What is the only sports team in the Big Four leagues of the US from the most religiously homogeneous state? You get one, you get the other!
Answer: Utah Jazz